What’s the best way to study for a test? A new study says taking practice tests and engaging in distributed practice — which means sticking to a schedule of spreading out your studying over time — work the best.

Surprisingly, the methods that were least effective when it came to getting a good grade on the big test were: summarization, highlighting, keyword mnemonics, creating imagery for text and re-reading.

“I was shocked that some strategies that students use a lot — such as re-reading and highlighting — seem to provide minimal benefits to their learning and performance,” study author Dr. John Dunlosky, professor of psychology and director of experimental training at Kent State University, said in a written statement. “By just replacing re-reading with delayed retrieval practice, students would benefit.”

Ten different learning techniques were reviewed Dunlosky his team. Their review was published in the January 2013 issue of Psychological Science in the Public Interest.